Utah Republicans have long tail-coated on the high reputation of republicans of yesteryear, but are not looking very good by comparison.

The propertied republican Senators in ancient Rome, worried about foreign invasion, laid down an emergency public policy, which read, “The [government] shall see to it that the state takes no harm.” Battles were won, but a plague then came and blistered all levels of society. Livy says, “Mere contact of any kind spread the infection … Rome lay helpless.” The emergency law instituted for war was rolled over to deal with the public health emergency.

In a time of American battles abroad and an outbreak of communicable disease at home, our own Senatorial class leader, Donald Trump, set the pattern for the modern republican response to a public health emergency: “One day, it’s like a miracle, it will just disappear.” (March, 2020)

Today’s Utah Republicans, two years later, still teach people to forget about advanced measures to deal with the virus, like testing. Sadly, that’s very practical advice, since local Republican leaders never encouraged our own world-class Utah bio-medical industry to make ongoing testing available to us. The reason being, you know, the virus will soon just disappear on its own.

Also, Republicans say it is fine for folks to not wear masks indoors in some of the county’s public places, if that floats your boat. But please do get vaccinated if you feel like making a contribution to the public good.

Republican women in Rome, for their part, did not obsequiously champion whatever their male party leaders wanted, like many of today’s female Republicans do. They clearly did not want to wait for things to take their own course while people suffered. Livy writes, “Every shine was packed. In every temple women lay prostrate, their hair sweeping the floor praying the angry gods to grant them pardon and to put an end to the plague.”

Republicans of Rome felt they must take both civic and personal action to deal with the disaster, including repent of their dilatory actions. Republicans today feel no such need to change their ways.

Utah republicans are like their Roman counterparts in one obvious respect. They are pagan polytheists, believers in the dual gods of fate and personal whim. Just let things play out, and have it like you want it.

Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross

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